Chess moves continue: US to boost troop deployment in north Australia

November 12, 2011 – AUSTRALIA – PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is refusing to confirm whether she and US President Barack Obama will announce a boost in America’s military presence in Australia when he visits next week. President Obama will travel to Canberra and Darwin during his first presidential visit on November 16 and 17. The leaders are reportedly set to announce an increased US military presence in northern Australia. Responding to the reports for the first time, Ms Gillard would not say whether they were true. “We will have a wide set of discussions when President Obama comes to Australia,” she said in Hawaii, which she is visiting for the upcoming APEC leaders’ summit. “On any specifics of what I may announce with President Obama when he’s in Australia, we’ll leave that to when we’re in Australia.” Asked how the Chinese might react to such an announcement, Ms Gillard said, “We’ve been an ally of the US for 60 years. We’ve been friends for a lot longer. “It’s not going to surprise anybody in China that Australia is an ally of the United States.”